THE FIXED FORMULA

A preliminary outline about the “fixed formula” concept.

Sometimes we hear talking about a sort of “fixed formula”, “open formula”, or similar, but then everything is left to imagination, since there are no definitions about this term but only free interpretations.

Based on the daily experience, the only possible interpretation of the term “fixed” is not “standard” as it could seem at first sight.

The simply “standard diet” gives no guarantee about the percentage of every single raw material used in the formula.

Standard simply means that the bromatological analysis (humidity, protein, fat, fiber) does not vary in different batches of diets, no matter about the raw material employed.

Indeed, the same level of nutrients can be obtained using different proportions of each raw material. This does not mean “fixed formula”.

As a matter of facts, it is not possible to claim “fixed formula” diet unless the quantity of each single raw material remains the same for years and years so that any experiment can be repeated with absolute confidence.

But, since an analysis of two different batches would hardly reveal a difference in composition, the only possibility we have is to check the facility production system and the archive with all the past production batches.

Therefore the producer should be open to inspective audits of the plant.